dawn of ancient fire

episode 3-marlowe

The inside of the castle was as stunning and overwhelming as the rest of the inner city.

The ceiling was fashioned like a massive greenhouse. The iridescent glass, supported by beams of interlocking steel, left rainbows across the jungle that was the throne room. The marble floors had been traded for pieces of sandstone locked together in a mosaic Making different levels in the floor. Curving pools of shimmering blue water filled the room with the sounds of splashing water. little lily pads dotting the pools' surface, and large fish swam in the depths. Plants and flowers had been imported from across the northern and southern continent. Sweeping arches of ivy and flowering vines made a dome over the dais that held the royal family's respective thrones.The occupants are a stark contrast to the wild, beautiful decor of the room. The prince and high queen were seated on matching thrones of rough-hewn stone. The clothing the royals wore always unnerved Marlowe. When at court, the royal family always wore masks of polished metal that covered their faces from forehead to nose, a tradition that started some ten thousand years ago. The people never saw the faces of their rulers. From the time a king and queen is crowned, they're made to wear this symbol of power and control. Marlowe found it archaic.

The queen wore a mask fashioned after a feathered bird. A three-dimensional beak covering most of her full mouth. The crown she wore was made of hammered copper and red jewels, mimicking a phoenix's feathers and was elegantly woven into the braids of her pale white hair. She wore a dress of gold that trailed along the floor dramatically. The prince was her opposite, the moonlight to her fire. He was adorned in a steel mask fashioned after the silhouette of a dragon's face and horns. The mask came to a point at the top of the prince's head on either side. He left his long silver hair loose and straight at his shoulders. His lean frame was adorned in a tunic of spun silver, a dark grey robe trailed at his feet.

"your late Marlowe... it's nearly morning". The prince drawled.

Marlowe stopped a few steps below the dais, cadoc still in tow, and bowed low. Her red curls swept the floor. The movement tugged cadoc forward with her. He mumbled a muffled grunt, his mouth still stuffed with her handkerchief.

"I apologize, your majesty..." she said, looking up " I ran into some... trouble".

" unusual for you, Marlow, but I see you still aim to please." The prince descended the stairs to stop in front of them. He held a presence that could be overwhelming. She recalled the first time she met prince Ryuu. She had been a child then, only 12 years old. He had been the one to find her half-frozen in an alley. At that age, the prince took a liking to sneaking away from his attendants and tutors to wander the city. she had thought him an angel then and had called him so in her delirious state. In a panic, he picked her up and ran her to the castle, hiding her away in his rooms. Weeks later he presented her at court, dressed in a borrowed tunic and leathers. His mother had been kind and warm. His father, however, was stern and demanded an explanation.

" This mouse has no place in the palace," he yelled.

Marlowe had mumbled something under her breath. Catching his attention, unfortunately.

" speak up, if you are going to speak, make sure it is heard by all who are present."

"I said I'm no mouse, I am Marlowe." she was shaking slightly but thought it a bad idea to show the dragon king weakness.

" What do you intend to do with her Ryuu?" his mother asked.

" I have grown to trust Marlowe and request that she receive the same training I do so that one day she will be ready to be the right hand to the prince."

His answer surprised her, but the king's agreement had surprised her more, and she began training that afternoon.

The king had called for her a few days later. His chambers were enormous; red velvet hung from the ceiling in great sheets and accented the polished gold floors. Giant white dahlias were growing around the room. Their fragrance was cloying and made Marlowe's head pound. The king was seated on a mound of pillows in the corner of the room, a gold tea service steaming on the seating table next to him. she stood hesitant at the door.

" don't doddle child come here," the king basilius said

"Yes sir." Marlowe moved forward deeper into the room, stopping beside the tea service.

" Do you know why I brought you here? sit down little mouse." the king gestured for one of the cushions on the floor.

" You are here, child, because Ryuu trusts you for a very important job. being the right hand to the prince will not be taken lightly. you will be his guard, his eyes, and his trusted advisor, do you understand?" The king served himself and then her, dainty cookies dusted in sugar and tea full of cream.

" Yes sir, I understand." he eyed her for a long moment. She started to fidget under his gaze. Picking at the skin around her nails

" Tell me why I should trust you with my son, little mouse."

" He saved my life, sir, I have no ties to anyone but Ryuu, as far as I'm concerned, I owe the prince my life and if he sees fit to appoint me, then I want to accept it. he's my friend." Marlowe said. she picked at the little cookies, crumbling them on her plate and dusting the sugar from her fingers. the king was silent for a while, he studied her carefully as if trying to find her lies.

" Where are you from, little mouse?"

" The highlands sir, a village about ten miles away from the elf capital of Thaelian."

" and your parents?"

" I don't know sir, they fled the war 5 years ago and we sailed here, we had a flat on the outskirts of the city your highness, they told me to wait for them to come home, but they never came back, the lord kicked me out, we hadn't paid and that was that."

" It seems you have nothing to lose. I'll be keeping an eye on you child, I have high expectations. you may go little mouse."

Since that day she had trained alongside the prince in all topics, war battle strategy, combat. She enjoyed the tutors and they adored her. Life in the castle had been a dream as a child. The two kids had been close as children, the weight of the crown and growing responsibility had changed Ryuu. gone was the mischievous boy who snuck away from the castle, in his stead was the dragon incarnate, cold and calculated.

"I assume this is the one."

"This is him, I expected more of a fight, the hardest part was getting him to shut up."

" so, I can see," Ryuu removed the handkerchief and threw the slobber filled silk to the side.

"I can't say I'm impressed; I would've thought a man boasting dragon ether would be less filthy." Ryuu gave the man a once over and sneered before turning to Marlowe. " have you arranged his death yet?"

" no, your highness, as you know I delegate that to the person of your choosing." Marlowe looked at him, he was scheming she could tell by the look in his eyes, they gleamed with mischief.

" Good, I should like to keep him alive... for now." he turned back to the dais, queen Yeona looked alarmed, obviously this was not something he'd discussed with anyone.

" what a f*****g let down." cadoc sneered

Marlowe elbowed him in the ribs " shut up you idiot."

" You drag me here promising death, which I expected givin who you are and who I am, and then you decide to keep me?" He huffed an unimpressed laugh. "Why don't you tell me what this is really about, Prince." he growled

Ryuu looked him over with disinterest before turning to her. "I can see what you mean Marlowe, the man has little to say of value but continues to talk." the prince drawled. " If you must know, I have a problem that needs your set of skills. Marlowe will set out with you in two days time for Thaelian. However, that's all I will say. For now." he looked directly at Marlowe. " Take him back to your quarters, I've had the connecting room set up for our guest and guards posted at every exit to ensure he doesn't run away. I will call for you before your journey, rest, and prepare. I trust you won't disappoint me." with that Marlowe and cadoc were dismissed. she bowed forcing cadoc down again and led him from the throne room into a hallway off to the side

" What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish?"

" I don't fear my death. not from a man hiding behind a mask"

" Well, that's exciting for you! you're practically immortal!" He gave her a puzzled look.

"stupidity lasts forever," she replied

"that hurts dove" he sulked at her, his bottom lip quivering

" don't play stupid. Either of those people could kill you with a thought and you know it. he just spared your life." Was he really that stupid? Or was this another joke to him.

"Do you forget? I'm a criminal dove. He's not my prince and I grovel for no man."

" Oh, don't pull that bullshit with me!" She turned to leave ropes still in tow only to be jerked back.

"Seems well to be going to your rooms after all." he winked at her.

" Whatever you expect from me you're not going to get it" she replied glaring at him she could feel him fidgeting, the rope trembling between them. Odd, he didn't seem the nervous type.

" Oh dove, all I wanted was to meet you. Sadly, it's time for our little adventure to come to an end." she hadn't noticed when he pulled her dagger out of her brace. hadn't realized the trembling was a swift cut through the rope. He had caught her off guard, distracted her, and she hadn't put it together until he gripped her wrists and tied them up, he spun on his heel and ran.

"Son of a b***h!"she thought. She hoped to God's he didn't know the castle.. There were only 2 exits near them, back into the throne room and through the front gate or a smaller stairwell leading to the kitchens and out a back door. She bent down and quickly cut the rope on the knife in her boot before removing the shoe and aiming. she hurled as hard as she could. A thunk and he was on the ground.

she raced over to him. he had just started to rise onto his arms she placed a foot onto his back

"Nice attempt but a poor one."

she allowed him to roll over onto his back. he looked down at his chest at her wool clad foot, then to the boot next to him

" did you,"

" Yes, try that again, it'll be a dagger. get up and quit fooling around!" she pulled him to his feet and gripped his collar hauling him down the hallway to her rooms. "I haven't failed a job since I was 15. I don't intend to again. Especially not one involving a second rate assassin." he grumbled the rest of the way to her rooms, not bothering to hide his glare.

compared to the rest of the castle her rooms were tame. the same archways and paned glass ceilings. As for decorations she had a few paintings on the walls, bookshelves here and there parchment,quills and more books filled the desk. clothes hung out of the wardrobe. plants hung from the windows in little white pots and on the floor. It was hers, and she didn't care about pomp and appearance. That and her rooms were far enough away from the rest of the courtiers that she couldn't hear the endless chatter and gossip. she shoved open the doors to her rooms and shoved cadoc inside slamming the door behind her.

" You'll be saying through that door," she pointed to her left, " if you need anything there's a palace of attendants, don't bother me." she opened the door for him and gestured through.

"I thought we could talk," he smiled at her as he flopped onto her couch " we'll be going on a trip together after all we might as well get along." he examined the books on the table next to him he picked one up and flipped to a random page his eyes going wide before he looked up at her

" I didn't take you for the steamy romance type". he smirked

" I'm not," she stormed over and grabbed the book, hugging it to her chest. " It was a gift."

" What else do you like dove? I assure you if what that books describes is your flavor, I'm more than happy to oblige."

" I like quiet, which I'm currently not getting, so please leave." she turned toward her bathing room rubbing her hand over her face. she hadn't realized how tired she was. she tried to remember when she slept last, the night before maybe? she couldn't recall. sleep didn't come easily to her anyways.

The exhaustion in her voice was evident "if you'll excuse me, I'd like to bathe and I don't need you snooping around my rooms.'

the couch creaked as he stood, she counted the sound of his footfalls to her door.

"I look forward to more of our conversations later on."

she listened for the door to click closed behind him, only when it clicked did she walk to the bathroom, locking the door behind her for good measure and strip off her dirty clothes, she was filthy. a night on the streets always painted a layer of grime over her clothes, hair and face. She turned the tap to the large basin in the middle of the room and grabbed vials of soaps and oils from a cabinet nearby, dumping them into the running water. The smell of mint and lavender filled the room. she breathed in deeply letting the scent clear her mind. She hadn't the faintest idea what the prince needed her on this mission for, let alone why she had needed to capture Cadoc to bring him along. Whatever he was planning she knew she wouldn't like it. But it had been years since she could confidently say she knew what the prince was thinking. Ryuu was a steel safe that couldn't be cracked. It was infuriating. she had thought about asking him on more than one occasion. but she always convinced herself she was being silly.

She slipped into the warm bath and let her mind circle around until she decided she would talk to Ryuu in the morning. She planned to sleep the rest of the day. everything could wait until tomorrow morning. then she would get her answers.